The poinsettia





The Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima):


Many people in the Netherlands buy a poinsettia during the Christmas season, with its beautiful, red, star-shape.
In the Netherlands it is called 'kerstster' (translated: Christmas Star) and in Central America the 'Flame Leaf' or 'Flower of the Holy Night'. In Spanish 'flor de nochebuena' (flower of Christmas Eve).

The poinsettia is a native plant in Mexico where it originated in a small region near Taxco. There it grows as a shrub up to ten feet tall. The Aztecs called E. pulcherrima "cuetlaxochitle," which is an even bigger mouthful to pronounce. Because of its bright red color, cuetlaxochitle was a symbol of purity to the Indians. It was used to make a reddish-purple dye out of the bracts and a medicine for fever from the plant's latex. The 'true flower' is the little yellow buttons you see in the middle of the brightly colored heads. Due to the bitter white sap in the stems, some people think the plant is poisonous. Not so, say the experts at Ohio State University. They used a concoction of over 500 leaves, bracts, and the yellow buds, but found not one bit of toxin!

It was brought to the US over a hundred years ago by Dr. Joel Poinsett, the first ambassador to Mexico.



The legend:

The legend of the poinsettia comes from Mexico.
It tells of a girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo.
They were very poor but always looked forward to the Christmas festival.
Each year a large manger scene was set up in the village church, and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties.
The two children loved Christmas but were always saddened because they had no money to buy presents.
They especially wished that they could give something to the church for the Baby Jesus.
But they had nothing.
One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo set out for church to attend the service.
On their way they picked some weeds growing along the roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the Baby Jesus in the manger scene.
Of course they were teased by other children when they arrived with their gift, but they said nothing for they knew they had given what they could.
Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers and so we see them today.



Care for poinsettia:
(the poinsettia can last well into spring)

Light: Medium light areas are best for Poinsettias, but the will tolerate low light. Avoid full sun to prevent burned leaves.
Water: Water when the soil surface becomes dry. Let the excess water drain out the hole in the pot bottom.
Temperature: Keep at temperatures between 60º and 70ºF.





Christmas in the Netherlands:
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